


The One Where Joey Moves Next Door

by midnightwriter4747



Series: The One Where Chandler Has a Decision [1]
Category: Friends (TV)
Genre: Chandler and Monica are engaged, Crush, F/M, Joey loves Chandler, M/M, Unrequited Crush, neighbor, new
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 14:29:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6054976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightwriter4747/pseuds/midnightwriter4747
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Season seven AU where Joey moves in across the hall from an engaged Monica and Chandler. He knows no one in the group, but he falls in love with Chandler almost instantly, and has to choose if he wants to get in between them and ruin the potential friendship, or if he wants to go with what his heart is telling him to do. (First in a series of many.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One: The One With The New Neighbor

**Author's Note:**

> This is first of an undetermined amount of a series about Joey moving next door to Chandler and Monica who are engaged, and them not knowing each other, and basically about Chandler and Joey falling in love but Chandler in the end having to choose between Joey and Monica.

Chandler was walking into his apartment building, trying to juggle the Chinese take-out he’d grabbed on his way home, and getting the keys out of his pocket, when he ran into someone, dropping the Chinese food.

“Crap, crap, crap!” Chandler muttered as he bent down to start picking up the food bags, and trying to spare the food that hadn’t spilled onto the floor. 

Part of him was aware of the guy he’d ran into bending down to help, but Chandler was too busy trying to save his dinner to pay too much attention. Monica was going to kill him! 

The guy stood up when Chandler did, to hand him one of the bags. Chandler took a good look at him, realizing he must be new in the building. He had dark hair, and dark eyes, and he had to be around Chandler’s age. He even looked like he had Italian blood in him.

“Sorry about that,” the guy said, sticking his hands in his pockets, before taking one back out for a handshake. “I’m Joey Tribbiani, and I’m new here.” 

Chandler gave this ‘Joey’ a look, because seriously? Couldn’t he see that he kind of had full hands, and was incapable of a handshake?

“The name is Chandler Bing,” he said, once Joey put his hand down. “Where do you live?”

“Apartment 19,” Joey responded, grinning like he’d won the lottery. 

“Really?” Chandler was mildly surprised, to say the least. What were the odds that it had been  _ that  _ particular apartment where Joey moved into?

Joey smiled even wider, if that was possible. “Yeah! And it’s a really great place, considering how it’s just me living there.”

Chandler was still having issues trying to get his keys out of his pocket, while carrying the Chinese food bags. Joey was watching him, with interest, before laughing. Chandler looked up from his struggle, glaring at the other man. 

“What is so funny?” he asked. 

“Ya’ could’ve asked me to open the door for you.” He had to choke it out between his laughter, which made Chandler glare at him even more. 

“Well, would you please open the door?” he asked. 

Joey must’ve missed the sarcasm, or just chose to ignore it, because he opened the door for Chandler. Chandler walked into his building, with Joey right behind him. While they walked up to the two apartments, Chandler couldn’t help but wonder at how lucky it was for Joey; that of the different apartments available in the building, this guy just happened to move into the vacant one across the hall from Chandler and Monica. Chandler could introduce Joey to the group, and they would finally be balanced with three guys and three girls. 

“So, where do you live?” Joey asked, breaking Chandler out of his thoughts. 

“Apartment 20,” Chandler responded. 

Joey smiled. “Great! We’re neighbors!” 

Chandler smiled too, because even though Joey seemed kind of annoying, he felt the same way about Ross most days, but they were still pretty great friends. And Joey did seem kind of cool. After all, he  _ did  _ help Chandler out with the Chinese food and when he saw Chandler struggling with his keys. 

“Well, here we are,” Chandler said, once they got to their floor, and their apartments. “You wanna come over?” He gestured to apartment twenty, while still trying not to drop the Chinese food. 

“Sure!” Joey replied, grinning still. Quietly, Chandler wondered if he ever  _ stopped  _ smiling, because it was sort of starting to get creepy. Although, him being happy a lot was good too.

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Chandler awkwardly knocked on his door with his elbows, hoping Monica was home. Although, considering how she didn’t have to go to work today, she should be. Unless her, Rachel, Phoebe, and Ross were down at Central Perk. 

He sighed in relief when Monica opened the door. 

“Hey, Mon,” he greeted, kissing her on the cheek. “I hope you don’t mind that I picked up a stranger.” 

Monica had dark, short hair, with beautiful crystal blue eyes. Chandler had by complete chance fallen in love with her, and he couldn’t imagine anything more wonderful than being with her right now. 

“Umm, alright,” Monica replied, obviously not certain on how to respond to what Chandler had just said. Her blue eyes brightened when she saw the Chinese food in Chandler’s hand. “Oh, great! You got my message! Put those over on the table, and I’ll use them tonight for dinner.” 

Chandler quickly sat down the Chinese food bags on the table, and walked back to where Monica and Joey were both standing around awkwardly. 

“Alright,” Chandler spoke, just to break the silence. “Mon, meet Joey Tribbiani. He just moved in across the hall, and I figured the least we could do was make him feel welcome. Joey, this beautiful woman in front of you is Monica Geller, my wonderful fiancée.” 

Monica blushed at the introduction. “Hey, Joey,” she said, sticking out her hand, which Joey grasped immediately, giving each other a handshake. “Nice to finally have a new neighbor.” 

“It’s nice to even have a place of my own,” Joey responded, babbling. “I’ve been living with my parents for so long that it’s gonna be weird to live on my own, but I think I can do it.” 

Joey’s grinning must’ve been infectious because Chandler found himself grinning as well, and when he looked at her, Monica was also smiling. 

“Do you wanna stay for dinner?” Monica asked. “You can meet everyone else when they come over.” 

“They’re coming?” Chandler asked, feeling stupid the second the question came out of his mouth. 

“Most likely,” Monica replied. “You know how much they like hanging out here.” 

Chandler knew she was right. It seemed like most of the time, the group was either hanging out here and his and Monica’s place or at Central Perk, the small coffee place that they loved hanging out at. It wasn’t that he minded, because really, he didn’t. He liked that he could see all his friends so much.

“I’d like to be able to stay for dinner, but after moving stuff into my apartment all day, I would like to be able to take a shower.” 

Chandler laughed. “Go ahead and take one. We’ll be waiting her with food.” 

Joey nodded, and left, leaving Chandler and Monica by themselves. It was quiet for a little bit, before Monica spoke. 

“He seemed pretty cool. Kind of cute too, eh?” 

Her question made Chandler feel uncomfortable. Was she seriously asking him if he thought their new  _ guy  _ neighbor was cute? He wasn’t into guys, so it had to be some sort of test, right? Was he supposed to say yes, just to agree? Or was he supposed to say no, so that Mon wouldn’t think he was going to try anything. The whole thing was just confusing. 

Suddenly Monica started to laugh. He looked at her, raising his eyebrows questionably.

“You should’ve seen your face. You looked all panicky. I was asking for Phoebe’s sake.” 

Chandler nodded his head. “Okay,” he said. Inside, he felt relieved. If Mon had seriously wanted him to answer if he thought Joey was cute, he honestly couldn’t say what he would’ve answered. He just hoped the conversation didn’t get brought up again.

 


	2. Chapter Two: The One With The Gathering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey was nervous. He didn’t feel completely up to going back to Chandler and Monica’s apartment. He had to admit that he’d felt a spark in his heart when he had first met Chandler. And he’d been awkward as they’d walked up to their apartments. Chandler had seemed awkward and excited at the same time. And then he had introduced Monica as his fiancée, and suddenly any hope Joey may of had of him and Chandler being together had disappeared. And then Joey had gone out and blurted he’d lived with his parents his whole life. Because apparently he didn’t look like a loser enough.

Joey was nervous. He didn’t feel completely up to going back to Chandler and Monica’s apartment. He had to admit that he’d felt a spark in his heart when he had first met Chandler. And he’d been awkward as they’d walked up to their apartments. Chandler had seemed awkward and excited at the same time. And then he had introduced Monica as his fiancée, and suddenly any hope Joey may of had of him and Chandler being together had disappeared. And then Joey had gone out and blurted he’d lived with his parents his whole life. Because apparently he didn’t look like a loser enough. 

Why did he even excuse himself to take a shower? It wasn’t like he needed it! He’d actually moved all his stuff in yesterday, with the help of his cousin.

“Alright, Joey,” he told himself, as he looked at himself in the mirror. “So he’s engaged. So what if he’s cute? You can go over there and act like it doesn’t matter. Maybe he’s got the worst personality ever, and you won’t even like him. Go over there, and put on the show of your life. You’re Joey Tribbiani, and you’re the best actor ever! If anyone can do this, it’s you.”

He knew he had to make it look like he had actually taken a shower, so he quickly ran into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from his box on the counter, and filled it with water. He threw it over his head, and did that two more times. Satisfied that he looked like he had just gotten out of the shower, he ran out of the door, and across the hall. 

He took two deep breaths, and knocked on apartment twenty. Instead of either Monica or Chandler answering, it was a guy who had dark gelled hair, and looked a bit like Monica. 

“Hello?” the guy asked. 

“Hey,” Joey replied, smiling. “I’m Joey Tribbiani from across the hall.” He pointed to the door that lead to his apartment. “Chandler and Monica said I could come over to eat?” 

The guy looked over his shoulder, and called, “Mon! There’s some strange guy at your door who looks like he just ran through someone’s sprinkler system.” 

Monica appeared and smiled when she saw Joey. “Hey, Joey. Glad you showed up. Come in. The food’s almost ready.” 

Joey didn’t have to be told twice. He walked  into the the apartment, and smiled wide when he saw Chandler on the couch, looking at him. Chandler’s expression then turned from a smile into a look of confusement, which in turned confused Joey. 

“Why are your clothes soaking wet?” Chandler asked. 

Joey looked down, and groaned. Of course he had to be an idiot and forget to change his clothes after dousing his hair wet. He was now completely soaked, his clothes and everything. 

He did some quick thinking. “Well, you see, I accidentally got my clothes wet while I was takin’ a shower, and I just threw them back on because my other clothes are all still dirty.” Joey put on his best smile, and let out a mental sigh of relief when Chandler started laughing. 

“Well, I’ll go get a towel for you to sit on so you don’t get my furniture wet,” Monica said as she disappeared into what Joey assumed was the bathroom. 

“So, Joey,” the guy who answered the door, started, “how do you know my sister and Chandler?”

“I just moved into the apartment across the hall, and I bumped into Chandler earlier. He invited me in, and Monica invited me over for dinner.” 

The guy stuck his hand out. “Well it’s nice to have another guy around here, Joey. I’m Ross Geller, Monica’s awesome older brother.” 

Joey took Ross’s hand, and shook it. Just as the handshake ended, Monica reappeared with a green towel. She handed it to Joey, and smiled. 

“Just sit that down before you sit, and we’ll be great.” 

Joey took the towel, and nodded. He went to put the towel on the couch by Chandler, even though he knew he shouldn’t. But he just couldn’t help himself, and when Chandler smiled once Joey sat down, causing his heart to flutter even more, he just couldn’t bring himself to get up and move. 

_ Stop it!  _ he chastised himself.  _ He’s engaged to a  _ woman!

“Hey, Ross,” Monica spoke to her brother. “Is Rachel still at work?”

Ross looked at his watch for a second before speaking. “No, she got done about ten minutes ago. She’s probably swinging over by Phoebe quick, and then they’ll both be right over.”

Monica nodded, before going over to the kitchen area of the apartment. As Joey watched her check the food from his spot on the couch, he felt his stomach rumble. He heard a chuckle from his right, and looked over to see Chandler laughing at him.

“What?” Joey asked. God, he loved it when Chandler laughed. It was such a great laugh.

“Nothing, nothing,” Chandler replied, before laughing again. “Sorry, it’s just your stomach sounds like a car engine.”

“I’m hungry, alright? I haven’t had anythin’ to eat in like, an hour!” 

“I haven’t had anything to eat since lunch, and you don’t see me complaining,” Ross butted in.

Joey looked at him with wonderment. “How can you live without eating for that long?” 

“Because I’m normal?” Ross replied, just as the apartment door opened to reveal two girls. 

The first had honey brown hair and blue eyes. She was beautiful no doubt about it. She also carried a blue purse that perfectly matched her t-shirt. The second girl had blonde hair done up in two pigtails to the side. Her eyes were green, and she seemed pretty too. 

The brown-haired girl stopped when she saw Joey. 

“Who’re you?” she asked. 

Joey stood up quickly, and smiled. “Joey Tribbiani. How  _ you  _ doin’?” He gave her a quick nod, and chose to ignore the quiet snicker coming from Chandler, who was still sitting on the couch. 

The girl looked awestruck for a second, before speaking. “Are you hitting on me? Ross, is this guy hitting on me?”

Ross came over to the girl, and put his arm around her waist, sending a clear message to Joey: these two were clearly an item. And if Joey wanted to be a part of the group, he would stay away. Which had been the exact same thing he’d felt when Chandler had introduced Monica as his fiancée.

“I don’t know, Rachel. Joey, are you hitting on Rachel?”

“N-no,” Joey stammered. “I-I just asked how she was doing.”

Ross nodded his head, and he and Rachel went over by Monica, who had come back by everyone after checking the food. 

“Alright, everyone,” Monica said, speaking, “this is Joey Tribbiani. He just moved across the hall, and I thought we could welcome him by inviting him to dinner, which by the way will be done in about ten minutes.” She put on a warm smile for everyone, which Joey fully appreciated. He was also glad when no one made a comment about his stomach rumbling at the mention of food. 

“Wait,” Rachel said, slowly. She turned to look at Joey. “You’re Joey Tribbiani?”

“Umm, yeah,” Joey replied. 

“As in, the Joey Tribbiani who played Doctor Drake Ramoray on Days of Our Lives?”

Joey grinned. “The one and only.” He couldn’t believe that someone had actually recognized him! When he was still on Days, everyone recognized him, and knew who he was. But once they killed off his character, people stopped realizing who he was. He’d become another faceless actor who had to try even  _ harder  _ to make his way in showbizz. 

“Oh my god!” Rachel exclaimed. “I  _ loved  _ your character! It was a shame they had to kill you off.” 

Joey smiled awkwardly. “Yeah. Anyways, it’s always nice to meet a fan.” 

“So, you’re an actor?” Chandler asked. His voice pulled Joey back to look at him from where he was sitting on the couch. Joey had barely known him for a few hours, and already he loved Chandler’s voice. He was aware of how dangerous it was to even allow himself to think of Chandler like that. He barely knew anyone in the room, but he already liked everyone, except the blonde girl who he knew nothing about. But he could see himself becoming friends with everyone here. So he really should block those awful thoughts about Chandler. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize any new friendships.

“Yeah,” Joey responded. “I’m an actor.”

The night went well. Monica had made some fancy food that Joey couldn’t pronounce, but that he could eat a lot of. It was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted, and he was unsurprised to find out that Monica was a chef at a restaurant. Ross was a professor at the college, teaching peleontolology, or dinosaur stuff. At first, Joey thought it was cool, thinking of  _ Jurassic Park,  _ but when he brought it up to Ross, the latter got this very upset look on his face that made Joey go quiet. Rachel worked at Ralph Lauren’s, and she seemed to really enjoy her job. Joey asked her if it would be possible to get him free clothes, and Rachel said she’d be able to get clothes for any of her friends. The blonde girl, Phoebe Buffay, was a masseuse, and quite peculiar to Joey. She seemed odd at points, but he figured he could get to like her. She seemed really sweet anyways. 

And then there was Chandler Bing. Oh god, Joey couldn’t even bring himself to specifically say what Chandler was. He was funny, he was charming, and he could be overly sarcastic. He and Monica seemed like a loving pair, and that only made Joey feel guiltier. He  _ had  _ to shove those thoughts about Chandler to the side. He couldn’t get between the happy couple; it wouldn’t be fair to them.

And with that thought, Joey climbed into bed, resolving  _ not  _ to meddle in Chandler and Monica’s relationship.


End file.
